Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Vocalist Sheila Jordan Dies at 96
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves received an honorary Doctorate of Musical Arts degree during Berklee College of Music’s 2003 Commencement in Boston.
Reeves, along with Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, spoke to the 600 graduating students and 3,000 invited guests during the May 10 ceremony, after which Berklee President Lee Eliot Burk presented them with their diplomas. The two also performed with the graduating class at the commencement concert the previous night.
Producer and Berklee graduate Arif Mardin joined Burk to present the degree to Reeves. Mardin produced Reeves upcoming album, A Little Moonlight, set for Blue Note Records release on August 19. Reeves and her working trio, pianist Peter Martin, bassist Rueben Rogers and drummer Gregory Hutchinson, recorded the collection of standards and are touring to promote the album. They will be at the St. Louis Jazz Festival on June 20.
For more information, go to www.bluenote.com or www.diannereeves.com
Jordan was a dyed-in-the-wool bebopper whose formative musical experiences were with Charlie Parker.
Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
“I don’t guess I’m going to excite you; I know I’m going to excite you,” Palmieri said in an August 1994 DownBeat feature.
Aug 12, 2025 10:33 AM
Famed Latin jazz composer, bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri passed away in his New Jersey home on Aug. 6. He was…
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
“I love the place that fate or whatever has positioned me in Gil Evans’ life and legacy,” said Ryan Truesdell.
Aug 5, 2025 12:26 PM
“I originally set out to give two years of my life to Gil,” Ryan Truesdell said of his mindset in 2009, when he…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…